So I ordered 2 xbee 3 to play with. Are the setup instructions in the OP more or less still the way to go?
Yes, or you can follow these step by step once (post 721 in this thread):
EDIT: Never mind, they are the same 
@NoWon updated the main thread
1 Like
So I know it was already asked if the xbee could be set up in monitoring only mode using the endpoint settings, but that doesnt appear to work unless I am missing something. In this mode it says transparent mode network discovery process is not supported. It there a way to view your network with having the xbee be a repeater? I just want to see how my network is performing as is without the xbee changing the routes.
You can not scan your network with the Xbee setup as an end point.
you need to make it a router.
The Xbee will not change the routes.
Devices will only route through the Xbee if you put the hub in zigbee discovery mode and try and pair a device.
Basically program it as a router and scan your network to see where everything is routing.
(of course the Xbee must already be paired to your network first either as an end device or router.
You can adjust it's settings after pairing. You do not have to re-pair it again.
1 Like
This isn't really true--Zigbee devices constantly re-evaluate routes and may choose the Xbee if it becomes attractive enough for them. (This is how people are able to use them as repeaters by just configuring them in XCTU and placing them "in the field.") This usually won't happen (at least in my experience) if you only have it online for a few minutes to scan, and it's also no harm if they do choose it given the previous information, but it's still worth knowing.
thank you
I stand corrected
I am so used to Xiaomi devices which do not seem to ever change routers but yes some other devices may change.
That's definitely something I've seen too! I've heard others say they've seen them change routes, but I never have. (Sometimes they mysteriously also fall off any mapping I'm able to do so I have no idea what they are doing besides still being fully functional on my network, but when I am able to see them, I've never seen them choose anything other than what they paired through.)
I've seen Xiaomi devices change routes, but I believe it was out of absolute necessity. I left an Xbee unplugged overnight, and the sensors previously routing through it jumped to several Tradfri outlets. They are stubborn though, as none of them have moved back to the Xbee in the four or five months since.
Mine prefer to just fall of the network even if there is a necessity, it seems. 
(I've experimented: I removed an Xbee some were routing through even though a nearby repeater or two should have also been attractive enough.)
2 Likes
@bertabcd1234 do you have any Tradfri routers?
Xiaomi may only jump over to routers that work well with them.
I have not really looked at what causes a device to change routes as it does not happen very often.
Now that I have 3 networked hubs with one mainly for Xiaomi friendly devices I will try to look at it.
I have two Trådfri outlets and one Trådfri repeater, but one of the outlets is a quite unattractive repeater on my network (currently LQI:252, age:3, inCost:3, outCost:5 but often has a bad RSSI) so I probably only have two reasonable ones. I still haven't seen them jump over to these, and I'm not sure there's any reason to suspect they "know" or care what will route well for them, at least the sensors I've used, which again just seem to prefer to fall off the network before finding even another "good" repeater for themselves.
If there were a ZHA 1.2 or Zigbee 3.0 alternative that worked as well as their temperature/humidity sensors, I'd be all over that. 
(They're pretty much all I have left of Xiaomi now; I've been meaning to sell my handful of motion sensors I've replaced with eBay Iris v2 sensors, buttons I've replaced with ST's, and possibly a couple contact sensors.)
Is there a trick to add 2 XBEE in router mode to one hub??? The 1st one added immediately, but I tried probably 20 times to get the 2nd one to join and it simply would not. Tried powering down the hub, removing power cord for a few minutes, and did the pair again. Nothing - it never discovers it.
I have 3 hubs, so I tried adding it to another one - sure enough it added immediately.
I have 2 routers on one hub no problem.
Still at work but did you change the identifier setting NI to a different name for the second one?
sorry just pulled up the manual it should be NI changed for the identifier not DD
I have 5 connected to one hub, so yes, it is possible. As @NoWon said, check the NI parameter to make sure it is unique
That's probably it. I definitely did not change the NI .
That wasn't in the instructions in the OP. What - you expect me to THINK about what I'm doing???
Thanks for the tip,. I'll go try changing the NI.
updated now
1 Like
Thanks! And you do know I was kidding about that comment, right? But maybe it will help someone else that is blindly following the guide and not engaging the brain on what they are doing (like I did).
I changed the NI, and it paired straight away. 
1 Like
Yes I knew you were kidding
I never tried adding 2 with the same name before.
good to know
These things have so many settings and they like to change their values with new firmware versions as well.
1 Like
Oh wow. I hadn't noticed that. Guess I need to start capturing settings before I update mine.
